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Monday, October 31, 2016

When watching a food movie, don't you sometimes wish that you could actually taste the dishes in the movie? I know that I do!Cinema A La Carte KL.. from the screen to your plate, is a culinary film festival of flavours, cinema and solidarity which allows you to do just that. Happening from 25th ​October to 8th December 2016, six different restaurants in the city will prepare a special menu each which best represent the chosen movie.

This year, Cinema A La Carte KL celebrates its 2nd Culinary Film Festival, kicking off at La Mexicana Bangsar. We were invited to discover the gastronomic delights at its first venue, while enjoying the movie "Canela".

All proceeds from Cinema A la Carte KL this year will go to The Lost Food Project, a initiative to raise awareness in society about food wastage and reducing food waste in Malaysia, by donating to the needy. Did you know that a staggering 3,000 tonnes of food is thrown away everyday, just in KL alone?

Watch a movie and eat the food from the movie

After a short speech by the organizer, Ms. Natahalie Nunez, the lights were dimmed and the film "Canela" started rolling. Before long, we were served the first course of the evening, a delicious sope, which is a traditional Mexican snack. The sope has made from corn flour, had a crispy and soft texture, and was topped with shredded duck confit, queso fresco (homemade cheese) with a reduction of Jamaica flowers (aka roselle) and a touch of Chile Morita for a spicy kick. This was served with an aperitivo with the Mexican flag colours - green and red sangrita and tequila blanco Patron in shot glasses. Our fellow diner, a Mexican gentleman taught us to first drink the green (sour), followed by the red (spicy) and finishing with the tequila.

Next was a rich and comforting carrot soup, with coriander and ginger. The fresh Jalapeno chile at the bottom of the soup bowl lends spiciness to the soup and the fried tortilla added a nice, crunchy texture. This was served with a refreshing fresh guanabana and chia juice.

In the movie, Tere who is the restaurant owner of El Molcajete, a traditional Mexican food restaurant, loses her passion for cooking due to a tragic death in the family. Hence the restaurant hires Chef Rosi, who introduces fusion dishes to the menu, as she tries to make it a light, trendy cuisine.

So for the next dish, Chef Carmela of La Mexicana goes fusion and whipped up a ravioli filled with homemade requeson cheese and pumpkin flowers in a chile poblano salsa. I loved the sauce, it was so flavourful! The next two courses were served with a white and red wine respectively.

The movie centres around Tere's mole poblano, a classic Mexican dish with a thick, rich chocolate sauce. Tere makes her mole, the traditional way, while Chef Rosi yet again makes it in her fusion manner. A food critic comes to the restaurant and eventually chooses Tere's mole as the best mole she has ever tasted. All the restaurant customers also come especially for Tere's mole.

Chef Carmela also makes her mole the traditional way, and tops it on chicken and rice a la Mexicana and corn tortilla. I have tasted a few mole in KL, and this is definitely the best I've tried!

And for dessert, we were served Mexican-style coffee and cinnamon cookies, which Maria, Tere's granddaughter makes in the movie.

We enjoyed the light-hearted movie, which showcased the importance of Mexican food and family traditions. For me, it was a nice experience, getting to taste the dishes you see in the movie.

Sunday, October 30, 2016

For Halloween this year, Hubby made these Halloween ghost and bat cookies. You can get the cookie cutters from Daiso, if I remember correctly, they also have cat and pumpkin cookie cutters. We decided to use the German cookie recipe from our blog and adapted to suit. German cookies are quite crumbly, so the idea is that it "disintegrates" and "disappears" easily in your mouth, suiting the Halloween theme well.

Here's what Baby C had to say about it:

Hello I am Baby C. I like to eat German cookies. They are yummy and soft. It is yummy when you eat them with milk. My daddy made these German cookies using Halloween cookie cutters for our dessert.Yum yum.

2. Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and icing sugar until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes.

3. Add the potato starch and plain flour, and mix to form a soft dough. If it looks too sticky, add a little more flour, about 1 tablespoonful. You should be able to pinch some off with your fingers and roll into a ball easily.

4. Divide the dough into half. Add a few drops of black food colouring to half of the dough and mix well.

5. Roll into balls, place on the baking tray and then flatten with your fingers. Then using the cookie cutter, cut into desired shapes (black dough for bats). Repeat until dough is all used up. Decorate with sesame seeds (use black for the ghost eyes and white for the bat eyes).

5. Bake in preheated oven for 15-17 mins. Allow to cool on baking tray and store in a tupperware once cooled.

Note: These cookies taste best after they have been stored for at least 24 hours.

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I had the shio ramen (RM28 for regular) while my friend had the shoyu ramen (RM28 for regular). I still love the broth and noodles (The broth was rich and creamy, noodles had a great texture) but char siu is just mediocre. We also ordered komi tamago each - cant believe they charge RM4 for the egg now, and the one we had this trip had a strange vinegary taste to it. :(

They are currently having a salmon sashimi promotion - RM1 per slice (maximum 5 slices) with every order of ramen. The sashimi didn't look that great to be honest (the way it was sliced was a bit off), but thankfully it tasted fresh.

Friday, October 28, 2016

We came to Intermark with ramen in mind for lunch, but unfortunately when we arrived, we saw Menya was boarded up for renovation. So, we just went to the non-halal food court next door to have some food. Not many stalls were opened on a Sunday - there was a pork noodle shop, Lam's Kitchen and a shop selling dim sum and steamed buns. Place your orders at the respective stalls, pay and you will be given one of those UFO buzzers which will buzz when your food is ready for collection.

Hubby went for the pork noodles, from Sun Huay Kee Pork Noodle, originating from Bangsar. You can choose which type of noodle you want, and whether you want it dry or in soup. He ordered the dry yellow noodle (RM10.50) with came topped with minced pork and two slices of lap cheong (Chinese sausage). The noodles tossed in the dark soy sauce was very tasty. It came with a bowl of soup with several pieces of square pork balls. Unfortunately the soup was really bland.

I had the king prawn wantan noodle (RM10.40) from Lam's Kitchen. When I went to pick up my order, my first thought was that the portion was really small. I don't really eat that much for lunch these days, and even this wasn't enough to fill me up. Portion aside, the noodles were tasty and the wantans were good.

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Mandarin Oriental, Kuala Lumpur's new Executive Pastry Chef Anthony Hoyle and his team are proud to present Afternoon Tea by Anya Hindmarch from 3 October until 20 November 2016 at Lounge on the Park.

Anya Hindmarch, MBE founded her business in London in 1987 and has since grown into a global brand that has over 46 stores, including flagships in London, New York and Tokyo. Anya's Autumn Winter 2016 Collection is inspired by pixelation and digital art, and is a blend of innovative craftmanship with a dose of humour.

Taking inspiration from Anya's Autumn Winter 2016 collection, the afternoon tea at Mandarin Oriental KL features dessert items with rainbow Tetris-like blocks, Pac-man, Space Invaders, Smiley Face, Googly eyes, and the fried egg. We absolutely loved this collaboration between Anya Hindmarch and Mandarin Oriental KL - quirky, playful and absolutely delicious, all in one. Furthermore, the set is eye-catching and extremely photogenic, and definitely got us marveling at its cuteness.

Goggly eye chocolate and whipped ganache brownie

Smiley lemon macaron

Doughnut with colour sprinkles

Yellow smiley chocolate handbag

Heart shape strawberry macaron

Fried egg mango lollipop

Space invader raspberry mille feuille (our fav)

Giant pixel red velvet handbag

Couldn't resist taking lots of photos of the adorable desserts

Other than the pastries, the Afternoon Tea set also comes with four types of sandwiches, namely Cajun chicken and guacamole, Egg and taragon, Smoked salmon with horseradish cream, and Cucumber and cream cheese sandwiches, as well as plain and raisin scones.

OMG! Black Forest waffle cone

Pastries that are begging to be played with ;)

Baby Sumo x AH x MOKL

The Afternoon Tea by Anya Hindmarch is available from 2.30pm to 6.00pm daily, and is priced at RM108 nett per stand.

Tuesday, October 25, 2016

If like me you have been to Spain and have experienced authentic Spanish food first hand, then consider yourself lucky. If you haven't, here's your chance to do so - head over to The Ritz-Carlton KL this week to experience Spanish Guest Chef Jose Alonso's cooking at The Library. It is definitely a gastronomic experience not to be missed!

Chef Jose Alonso who helms the Binomio Spanish Restaurante in Singapore will be in KL from 25 to 29 October 2016, and will be showcasing some of his signature dishes namely Arroz Negro, Croquetas de Pollo y Huevo and Tallarines de sepia con Sofrito.

Chef Jose Alonso honed his culinary skills working with many celebrity chefs, including Michelin award-winning Sergi Arola, Francis Paniego and Spain's most celebrated Chef, Santi Santamaria. Chef Jose believes in serving cuisine that remains true to its Spanish roots and is prepared using only fresh ingredients of the highest quality. His food philosophy is to have respect for the produce and to be honest with the guests. No food should leave the kitchen that they themselves would not eat.

The menu comprises of an array of Spanish snacks, tapas, and paella, that will leave you nodding your head in appreciation and licking your lips - we were definitely impressed. The dishes may look unassuming, but trust me when I say that they're packed full of flavour and every mouthful was a pleasure.

We started off with two snacks - Sandwich de Queso Fresco (Fresh Cheese Terrine Bikini) and Berenjenas Con Meil De Cana (Fried Eggplant, Honey). The cheese, made from cow's milk, was mixed with olive oil, truffle, and chive, sandwiched between crisp bread - a pleasurable small bite. The fried eggplant looks deceivingly simple, but it had a wonderfully crisp texture and was non-oily. The secret, according to Chef Jose is to soak the eggplant in milk before deep frying.

Next came the tapas, starting with the Croquetas de Pollo Y Huevo (chicken and boiled egg croquettes). Served piping hot, the croquettes were crispy on the outside and creamy on the inside.

One of my favorite dishes was the Tallarines de Sepia Con Sofrito (Grilled Cuttlefish, Sofrito, Veal Vinaigrette) which resembled pasta strands. Chef Alonso tells us that the cuttlefish is rolled and then thinly sliced, and then grilled for about 10-15 seconds to retain its excellent texture. We loved the accompanying sofrito, made from caramelised onion and tomatoes, as it had a lovely smokiness to it.

The Pulpo a la Gallega was another fantastic tapas dish, featuring grilled Atlantic octopus with Escalivada and smoked paprika.

The highlight of the meal for me was the Arroz Negro, squid ink paella with seafood. Perfectly executed, the paella was on point - unpretentious, yet amazingly tasty. The rice was tender and flavorful, complemented by the generous amount of seafood. I want to eat this again!

For mains, we were served the Jarrete de Cordero, lamb shank which has been braised for 10-11 hours, served with a potato puree and piquillo peppers.

We ended our meal with a crispy, sinful dessert - traditional churros with dark chocolate sauce. Thank you to The Ritz-Carlton KL for having us, and for one of the best meals we've had in 2016!

The Spanish Guest Chef Dinner at The Library will be available from October 25 to 29, 2016 from 7pm to 11pm and is priced at RM150 nett per person (without wine) or RM250 nett per person (with Spanish wine). For more information or reservations, please call +60 3 2142 8000 or email dining@ritzcarlton.com.my.